The 2015 adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Goal 61 in particular means that countries must deliberately devise inclusive and effective strategies to measure and evaluate progress on effective access to services such as safe drinking water and sanitation as...

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are responsible for monitoring global progress towards water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. The global effort to achieve sanitation and water for all by 2030 is extending beyond the household to include institutional...

Key Messages Migration isn’t driven by a lack of water and sanitation services, but providing services can support successful migration. The barriers faced by migrants make achieving the SDGs’ ambitions of universal access more challenging. Challenges stem from failures in governance, not the amount of water available, numbers of...

This brief outlines transgender and gender non-conforming persons’ right to adequate sanitation facilities in public...

This Issue Brief introduces readers to the human rights-based approach to sanitation. Access to sanitation may reduce vulnerability, a key focus of social protection. This briefing paper makes the case for an increased focus on sanitation as a human right, explores current approaches to address this right, and provides...

Climate change is one of many forces contributing to an unfolding water crisis. In the coming years, the demand for water will increase as food production grows, populations grow and move, industries develop and consumption increases. This can lead to water stress, as increasing demand and use of water...

On 19 November, we mark World Toilet Day and highlight the staggering fact that 2.4 billion people – one third of the world’s population – still live without access to proper sanitation. What does this mean for women in the workplace? Poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)...

This discussion paper reviews the extensive literature on sanitation to show that inadequate access to this basic service prevents the realization of a range of human rights and of gender equality. We recognize that “dignity” is a highly culture- and gender-specific term; we therefore argue that sanitation for all—sanitation...

Le présent rapport permet d’examiner différentes questions : de la non-revendication des droits et des services par les femmes – en raison du silence et de la stigmatisation qui entoure les menstruations – à la maitrise de l’hygiène menstruelle et à la gestion des déchets dans la région de...

Most comprehensive work on sanitation in India. Provides an overview of the existing legal as well as policy instruments related to sanitation in India. Fills the existing gap, both in knowledge and policy instruments, defining sanitation in India. Highlights the importance, complexity, and fragmented nature of the legal and...

Celebrating World Water Day, The Lancet Editors1 highlighted the gains made towards Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7c, “to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation”, and noted UN-Water’s call for sustainable water management in view of future increases...

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices vary worldwide and depend on the individual’s socioeconomic status, personal preferences, local traditions and beliefs, and access to water and sanitation resources. MHM practices can be particularly unhygienic and inconvenient for girls and women in poorer settings. Little is known about whether unhygienic MHM...

This study examined sources of psychosocial stress related to the use of toilet facilities or open defecation by women and adolescent girls at home, public places, workplaces and in schools in a rural community in Pune, India. The mixed methods approach included focus group discussions among women, key informant...

The importance of maternal sanitation behaviour during pregnancy for birth outcomes remains unclear. Poor sanitation practices can promote infection and induce stress during pregnancy and may contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs). We aimed to assess whether poor sanitation practices were associated with increased risk of APOs such as...

While sanitation interventions have focused primarily on child health, women’s unique health risks from inadequate sanitation are gaining recognition as a priority issue. This study examines the range of sanitation-related psychosocial stressors during routine sanitation practices in Odisha, India. Between August 2013 and March 2014, we conducted in-depth interviews...

A report examining menstruation and its management from the perspective of women and girls in the Kedougou Region of Senegal. These range from an inability to exercise their rights and access services due to the silence and stigma that surround menstruation, to poor menstrual hygiene practices and waste management....

This is a short multi-media piece that highlights the devastating impact of India’s sanitation crisis on women. It was produced in support of a 2014 research study called Sanitation Vulnerability: Women’s stress and struggles for violence-free sanitation....

The ground-breaking report highlights the plight of voiceless, underserved groups, and their need for safe and satisfactory sanitation and hygiene. “Leave No One Behind” summarizes the sanitation and hygiene hopes and aspirations of thousands of women and men of different ages and physical ability, across rural and urban areas...

This report examines a range of issues, from women and girls lack of access to sanitation and hygiene services to their strategies for dealing with menstrual hygiene management while playing their roles in families, communities, at work, at school, etc. The study also addresses the impact of perpetrated beliefs...

Patterns of marginalisation and exclusion are present all over the world, with stark and persisting inequalities in access to water and sanitation. Progress made in the water and sanitation sector does not always benefit those who are most in need of these services, in particular the poorest, people living...

The rights to social protection and water and sanitation can and should be mutually reinforcing, particularly if the linkages are made explicit. Such linkages include both consideration of access to water and sanitation in the design of social protection systems, as well as explicit recognition of the human right...

This brief explains the importance of water supply, sanitation and hygiene in post-2015 sustainable development...

In 2000 the Member States of the United Nations signed the Millennium Declaration, which later gave rise to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Goal 7, to ensure environmental sustainability, included a target that challenged the global community to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to...

This toolkit provides an overview of the human rights to water and sanitation, and tips for campaigning for their realization.   Link to...

The purpose of this handbook is to help civil society and those working on water and sanitation issues to adopt a human rights-based approach to advocacy, so that they can improve water and sanitation service regulation and provision at international, national and local levels. Directed primarily at community groups,...